So happy it’s Friday and I get to participate in another #AskAwayFriday, where we have the opportunity to ask 10 questions of another blogger and they ask us 10 questions back! Scroll to the very bottom to check out my old posts!

Here are our hosts:

Tamara from Tamara Like Camera,
Tiffany from Mrs. Tee Love Life Laughter,
Christy from Uplifting Families,
Stacey from This Momma’s Ramblings
and
Amber from Bold Fit Mom This week, I’m exchanging questions with Danielle of Cozycakes Cottage where she covers so many awesome topics!

 

She is a wife and mother of Munchie, a 5 year old girl, who seems to have immense amount of time to not only cook and clean regularly, but organize her entire house in just 20 days! I’m so jealous! Let’s get these questions started!

1.  I saw you moved from California to Florida not too long ago.  I’m a California gal, lived here all but a few years of my life, so I wonder what you miss most about the Golden State?  And what do you NOT miss about California? The mountains! Last Christmas, it was hard not to see the snow and being able to go up there and play in it. We used to live at the foothills of Mt. Baldy and it was only a 30 minute drive. Here, in Florida, everything is flat, flat, flat!

I know this is a backward way to answer, but I don’t NOT miss my money. In California, you are taxed liked crazy, spend a lot of time commuting to or from the major cities and I felt that we spent the vast majority of our time working to just live. Here, in Florida, the cost of living is less, there are no state taxes, and things seem to be SO much more efficient. You can register your car for two years (if you want, instead of one), it’s about half the price to do so. People don’t slow down or get tickets for going a few miles over the speed limit. There are FREE after school programs galore and FREE busing. So many good ways that I keep my money in my pocket.

2.  Lately, I’ve been reflecting a lot on the memories I’d love for my little girl to have of me when she’s all grown up.  When your 3 beautiful children are adults, what would you like them to remember about growing up with you as their mom when they reflect on their childhoods? Oh this a bad time to ask this! I’ve been stressed because I’ve had to discipline my children more than usual. I always feel really bad, but I now it needs to be done now, so there won’t be problems in the future. Ultimately, I just want my children to remember that my home is a safe and caring place to be, where they can tell me everything. I would love to think that they would remember great food, but I’m not a great cook… LOL!

3. What’s on your nightstand?  Oh, this can vastly vary! Right now, it’s just junk! Some cut coupons, a Mary Kay catalog, a Prima Donna lingerie catalog. Typically, it’s where all excess in my purse come to die, since I like to keep it slim.

4.  Would you please share one of your favorite Bible verses with us? This depends on my mood and what I’m going through. Right now, it’s:

I believe that we can achieve everything that’s in our dreams, but we must first seek Him and He will help us get there! I’m striving to get our family to the next level (whatever that is), but I’m looking for financial freedom, not particularly riches, just at a point where our house is paid off and I don’t have to check my account balance before I make a purchase.

5. I’ve started mentally “planning” our summer, but I’ve been thinking about how parents today handle summer differently than when I was a kiddo.  Now children seem booked solid with play dates, vacations, camps, lessons, lessons, and more lessons while I spent summer days reading dozens of books, playing outside until sunset, and putting my imagination to good use, inside and outside.  What are some of your favorite simple childhood summer memories? I used to go to the Boys and Girls Club of Hollywood from about 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day. During their summer program, the pool was open three to four times a day. I loved swimming at every session ~ no sunscreen or sunblock! LOL! I loved being under the water because I could think about myself with no one to

6.  I saw that you also love date nights at home with your husband (high five!) with a Redbox (love that box).  What’s the last movie you watched together and how did you like it? . We really liked it. The documentary is about background singers. As someone who likes to sing, but never considered herself the “star”, it made it seem worth it if I chose to go down that route, even at this age. One of the ladies didn’t start until her 30s!

7. I’m inspired by your goals and dedication with regard to losing weight to be with your family/children as long as possible.  I have some weight loss goals myself and my little girl is my inspiration.    I exercise outdoors, but what program/video would you recommend for the home? As a Beachbody coach, I have many options. Since you didn’t say what type of exercise you do outdoors, I’ll give you a few options. I’m assuming since you like exercising outdoors, you likely don’t like to use weights. With that in mind, If you like something low-key, I would try Tai Cheng, which is a Tai Chi-type of exercise video. If you’re looking for something that’s a bit dancy, you could try TurboFire, which requires coordination, but can get you to burn 1000 calories in just an hour. Now, if you’d like something super intense, hard, and extremely challenging, I’d recommend Asylum! If you’ve heard of Insanity, Asylum is harder! Finally, if you’d like something simple, and free, feel free to check out my board:  or  for a program that will fit for you! The downside is that many people get bored with the printable programs, since there’s no variation.

8.  I know you’ve got to be one busy mama…and then you blog top of everything else! When are you most productive?  Are you a morning person?  Night owl?  Afternoon gal? LOL! I’mstill figuring this one out. I used to be an early bird, but I haven’t been for years. Now, I’m up nights, but often I have one (or more) children with me. Bee seems to hate sleep and although she goes to bed at 9, will be up again as early as 10, and often many times a night. For the most part, I try to get things done during nap time.

9.  What was the best part of your day, what was the worst part of your day? Nap time! Bee is very demanding and doesn’t like things to not be about her. It takes a lot of time and energy to get her to settle down and/or entertain her. Things are pretty nonstop when she’s awake. Worst time is when I have to pick up my husband or my son. As much as I don’t mind having one car, my day is interrupted when I have to leave. What this means is if I had trouble getting Bee down for her nap, and she doesn’t go down until 1, I’ll have to wake her up to get my son. When it’s time to get my husband, I’m normally in the middle of cooking dinner or getting an activity for the kids to do. He doesn’t come home at the same time, which means it’s hard to plan for it.

10.  Mother’s Day is in a few days–Happy Mother’s Day to you!–What does your perfect Mother’s Day look like? Perfect? I have no idea. Mother’s Day is hard for me. As much as I’d like it to be about me (hey, I’m a mom, I can be selfish), I always feel somewhat hurt and sad that I’m not close to my own mother. I’m always in awe of others with their mothers, the happiness and the events that they shared. I’m sure that’ll come, but for now, my kids are still pretty young. That said, would be a mom’s day out ~ spa, with nails, hair, massage, nice brunch or lunch. Then ceom together with the rest of the family, where the dinner is paid and/or prepared, not by me.

Whew! Those were some hard questions! Feel free to email me if you’d like to join in the fun or head over to any of the hosts pages to link up!

This isn’t my first time around the block! If you want to read some of my older posts, check out these:

In week 1, I told Amber whether I plan on practicing as an attorney.
In week 2, Heather got me to show you what I had under my bed.
In week 3, Stacey had me tell you about my unaccomplished dream.
In week 4, I told Christy all about the best parenting advice I’ve ever received.
In week 5, I shared with Penny how I think boys are different from girls.
In week 6, Sarah wanted to know my favorite room in the house.
In week 7. I talked to Tiffany a little bit about how to “healthify” her favorite snacks.
In week 8, I shared with Rabia the women who made a positive impact for Women’s History Month.
In week 9, Bev had me share some recent pictures and the stories behind them.
In week 10, Sonya got me to sing… almost!
In week 11, Wendy got me to admit to my biggest weight loss hurdle.
In week 12, I admitted to my legal woes to Lanaya
In week 13, Rea asked about what I felt was a big problem in the US.
In week 14, find out which cause I’m passionate about by Beth.
In week 15, Stephanie got me to open up about my practicality.
In week 16, I tell Sherri how I maintain my marriage.

I was nominated into the top fitness bloggers over at Voice Boks! I’m so very late on getting in on this contest. Please go over and click by Friday to get me into the top 10!